Maximum expansion of the Tenerife Glacier (51°S) during the last millennium
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Date
2024
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Abstract
In the Patagonian Andes it is still under debate when the glaciers reached their maxi-mum expansion during the last millennium. In this work we analyze the fluctuations of Tenerife Glacier (51 degrees), a small mountain glacier located immediately to the south of the Patagonian Ice Fields. A detailed analysis of the glacial landforms of the valley allowed us to identify three moraine systems, in the south-central, southwestern, and northern parts of the Monte Tenerife valley, respectively. Based on ages obtained by count tree rings (Nothofagus pumilio) and Placopsis cf. gelida (L.) Linds lichens diameter measure-ments, we estimated that the Tenerife Glacier receded from its maximum extent in the last thousand years immediately after 1742-1765 AD. The maximum expansion of the Tenerife Glacier during the last millennium coincides with the maximum expansions of the Schiaparelli (54 degrees S) and Stoppani (55 degrees S) glaciers. However, other glaciers reached their glacial maximum limit earlier and show temporal asynchrony in when they reached their largest extents. This suggests a temporal variability in the glacial maximum during the last millennium in southern Patagonia (49 degrees and 55 degrees S)
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Tenerife Glacier, moraines, till deposits, Nothofagus pumilio, Placopsis cf, gelida (L.) Linds